Choosing the right education for your child is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
As parents, carers or grandparents you have a choice – and the right – to offer your child the best education available.
The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle proudly hosts some of the best schools in Newcastle, Maitland, the Hunter and Upper Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Manning regions.
Catholic schools offer a unique educational experience which forms the child or young person as a person of integrity, compassion, faith and wisdom. Catholic schools also work closely with their local parish to enhance in students a capacity to make sense of their world, to make judgements and to recognise the uniqueness of others within a faith community.
Each school has a supportive community of teachers, parents, carers, P&F committees, clergy, parishioners and support staff who work together to focus on students; encouraging success, promoting discipline, supporting creativity and instilling compassion. This means that Catholic schools do not just teach religious studies, they seek to develop spirit, mind, body and character and cultivate Gospel values that support lives filled with joy, endeavour and hope in the future.
St Joseph’s College is committed to focusing on each individual child’s ability, offering a unique array of educational, creative, sporting and formation opportunities for students.
Finally, Catholic schools offer peace of mind to parents; knowing they’ve made the right choice and the best investment for their child’s future. It is because of this and the many opportunities available to students that we believe choosing a Catholic education is the right choice to make.
Open Days
Each year St Joseph’s offers current and prospective families the opportunity to explore the facilities and experience student engagement in a variety of courses and spaces.
Our Open Afternoon includes tours of the College led by students and an opportunity to meet with members of the Executive in MacKillop Place – our College Hall.
Enrolment Information
“Our mission is to evangelise – to proclaim Christ, the Good News of God’s love for all. All our pastoral activities must, therefore, both flow from our personal response to Christ and be carried out in the spirit of the Gospel.” Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Pastoral Plan, Moving Forward Together, 2011 (Theological Principle 3.1)
Why Catholic education?
Catholic schools are centred on the person of Jesus Christ and are called to live and proclaim the message of the Gospel. Supported by, and in collaboration with, the Catholic community of which they are a vital part, Catholic schools encourage staff, students and their families into a personal relationship with Jesus, challenging them to find, through Him, meaning and value in their lives.
The College is an integral part of the Parish and Pastoral region’s program of outreach to Catholic families. Enrolment in a Catholic school enables the local Catholic community to offer support to parents in the faith education of their children. In addition, Catholic schools contribute significantly to the Australian community by promoting quality education and a just and tolerant society.
Does my child need to be Catholic to attend St Joseph's College?
No. St Joseph’s College is open to all who want to share its educational goal, inspired by Christian principles. In accordance with each school’s enrolment vacancies, preference is given to students who are baptised Catholic and who live in the local parish and then to children of Catholic families from other parishes who wish to enrol. However, schools are open to all who wish to be guided in their education by the principles and teachings of Christ.
All families and their children, Catholic or non-Catholic, are invited to have a Catholic education but must be willing to participate in the religious life of the school.
When is the enrolment period?
St Joseph’s accepts applicants for enrolments at any time of the school year, however the official enrolment period for the following year commences in March with Year 7 applications to be lodged by the end of April. The enrolment period is promoted via local media and the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools Office website, school newsletters and social media pages.
The College’s major intake year at St Joseph’s is for Year 7, however, dependant on vacancies and the capacity of the College to support additional enrolments, positions may be available in Year 8 to 12 throughout the school year.
What is the enrolment process?
Parents are asked to:
- Complete and return an Enrolment Application including all associated and specified documentation
- Upon acknowledgement of your application you will be contacted to arrange an enrolment interview
- A letter will then be forwarded indicating the outcome of your application
- Should you be offered a place, you are required to accept the offer in writing within the specified timeframe
- Parents will receive a package containing the student handbook, information regarding the transition program and various documents including, but not limited to, a Student Code of Conduct and BYOD and Internet Usage Agreement.
Overseas Students
A small number of places in schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle may be available to students on visas who share our Catholic faith and ethos. At the present time, no students with a visa subclass 500 are able to be enrolled into diocesan Catholic schools.
For more information, please see the Enrolment of Students on Visas Policy.
Provider name: Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle
CRICOS provider code: 03339D
For more information contact the Catholic Schools Office at info@mn.catholic.edu.au
Enrolment Policy
In recent years the Catholic Diocese has received unprecedented demand for school entry across our Diocesan schools. This demand, combined with the desire to offer families a pathway for their children from Kindergarten through to Year 12, has led to the Diocese revising and adjusting the Enrolment Policy.
The policy sets out the prioritisation for enrolment in schools and applies to all students seeking enrolment at a Catholic School in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle (CDMN).
For further information on the enrolment prioritisation criteria please visit the CSO website at
https://www.mn.catholic.edu.au/enrolment/enrolment-policy/
A commitment to Catholic education when considering priority of enrolment for secondary education means enrolment at a CDMN primary school from Kindergarten or at least the commencement of Year 4 for priority enrolment for secondary schools.
Transitioning to High School
Transitioning to high school can be both exciting and overwhelming for students, therefore, it is important that we stage the transition process. Students from our Catholic feeder schools are invited to attend a transition day in Term 2 of the year prior to commencing enrolment. On this day students are introduced to the layout of the College, the structure of a school day and have the opportunity to meet with Year 7 students and teachers.
More Information
